Discovery
by Nightingale0708
Summary: AU. During a battle, Robin is injured. Most of the team has been taken down, leaving the bird to the mercy of Bane. Before being crushed, Robin was miraculously saved by a certain mercenary with a two-toned mask. A comment from Bane makes the Team question everything they knew about their "brother" and what this could mean for them.
1. Saved

Fighting after getting a lecture from Batman was sooooo not whelming. Apparently, he needs to "reel in" his team more. Well, sorry that they aren't a team with sticks up their asses like the Justice League. At least the Team could laugh in public. They were teenagers. It's what they do, dumbasses.

Robin punched another thug and flip kicked another. This was just getting too easy. That thought was banished from his mind as he felt the air move behind him. Thinking quickly, he launched himself over the thug he was about to punch, subsequently pushing the unfortunate thug into the line of fire from Bane's fist.

A sick crack was heard as the thug flew to the side, arms flailing like a rag doll. Robin knew the sound of a snapping neck. That thug was dead before he hit the wall. Robin turned, not wanting to give his back to a villain that was about 100 times stronger than him as long as the Venom was pumping through his veins. As Bane took another swing at him, Robin back flipped out of the way. He landed in a crouch and looked up to analyze his surroundings.

The rest of the team were fighting various levels of henchmen. Kid Flash was slumped against the wall, his right leg bent at an awkward angle, eyes closed and arms limp at his sides. Artemis' bow string was cut, presumably by one of the thugs' knifes, and she was fighting hand to hand against multiple assailants. Her back was to Kid Flash, defending the injured speedster until the fight could be won. Miss Martian was laying unconscious on the floor, flickering in and out of the visible spectrum. Kaldur was kneeling next to her, murmuring in Atlantean, the mysterious tattoos on his arms glowing as he held his hands over her. Superboy was defending the two metas using a useful tactic of throwing any hostile that came at him like a bowling ball, forcing that thug to bowl over some of his allies. Robin thought it was pretty funny. Too late, he sensed a shift in the wind and realized that he had zoned out of the fight. He stumbled backwards, trying to avoid getting hit with a fist that had the strength of Superman. A full strength hit from Bane could kill fully grown men. A skinny, yet muscular thirteen year old? Most def. There was no doubt about it.

He wasn't fast enough.

The blow hit his right shoulder as he leaned backwards to avoid the strike. A shock wave went through his arm as the bones rattled and the muscles stretched. A pop was heard as his shoulder popped out of place. He was sent rocketing in the other direction, twisting with his arm flying uselessly at his side. He yelled as his head collided with the wall. He vaguely heard glass breaking and someone calling out his name. He cursed himself as he struggled to his hands and knees amidst the stars in his eyes. Suddenly, he was tackled from behind and he felt the tension in the air thicken to the point of suffocation.

All the henchmen were taken down. Amid the chaos, Kid Flash had woken up and Artemis was setting his bone. Miss Martian looked weak but was on her feet. Kaldur and Conner were a little worse for wear but nothing too serious.

It was at this point that Robin realized that he was wrapped protectively in strong, muscular arms in an almost fatherly embrace.

Oh no.

That could only mean one thing.

He stiffened slightly as he craned his neck backwards to look at his savior. His blood ran cold when he saw the orange and black two toned mask of his father, Deathstroke the Terminator.

He grunted in surprise and tried his best to extract himself from his father's grasp. When the mercenary showed no signs of wanting to let him go, Robin spoke.

"What are you doing here?" He spoke in a whisper, soft and rushed. A single vivid blue eye looked down at him with something akin to amusement, concern flickering through every once in a while.

"I was in the area." The man replied dryly while helping the younger male to his feet while everyone froze in astonishment. Sure, there was a lot of vigilante to vigilante teamwork, even though they weren't working for the same organization. But there was nothing to this level. A villain helping a hero? That was practically unheard of. What made the current situation stranger was that Deathstroke wasn't acting as though it was a simple contract. He acted as though this was personal.

XXXXXXX

Artemis knew as soon as the mercenary came crashing in through the skylight that something was up. The whole Team was about to figure something out, something was about to be revealed. The shit was about to hit the fan. Even Bane froze. He seemed as confused as they all were with the current situation.

"Well, well, look what we have here." Bane's sentence won everyone's attention. "Un padre y un hijo." Artemis (along with Wally) sent a startled look towards the fallen bird. A scowl was on his face and he was glaring darkly at their enemy. Ironically, an almost identical look was being sent by Deathstroke. Artemis put two and two together and almost laughed at the situation they were currently in. Her teammate was the son of the deadliest mercenary in the world. Robin, protege to the Caped Crusader of Gotham, was Deathstroke the Terminator's son.

It was positively hysterical.

The standoff didn't last for long. The mercenary and his son quickly recovered their wits. Robin swiftly popped his shoulder back into place without so much as a wince. Deathstroke slowly drew a bo staff from his belt and extended it fully, crouching into a ready position. Robin stretched his arm and drew a few discs from his utility belt, readying himself. Mercenary and vigilante nodded to each other before springing into action.

They fought in perfect sync. Robin went left, Deathstroke went right. They never got in each other's way, they only worked together to cripple the ginormous man in from of them. Deathstroke attacked head on, his bo staff a blur as he struck the addict over and over. Even with his enhanced strength, the hits were little more that bee stings. But it was more than enough for Robin.

He let his discs fly, each one of the severing a different tube, essential to Bane's seemingly unlimited strength. The thick red liquid that gave Bane his powers rushed out of the severed tubes and onto the floor, some of it getting in the addict's eyes. He stumbled around, hands no longer trying to land hits on the deadly duo, too preoccupied with trying to rid the source of his blindness.

Robin jumped in the fight, pulling his escrima sticks out of his utility belt. He pressed a button on the pieces of metal and a glow lit up his face. Pure white electricity laced the top of the escrima sticks, giving the bird's face an eerie glow. He rushed forward, lips pulled back in a snarl, eyes narrowed in a deadly glare. He somersaulted into the air, swinging his leg around and hitting Bane in his left temple. The hit sent him right into Deathstroke's staff. That hit sent him into Robin's electricity-charged escrima sticks. Soon, the Team was watching in awe as the father and son duo hit the 9 foot 2 inch tall man, who weighed almost 500 pounds, between them, making the addict look as though he was watching a very, very aggressive game of ping pong.

Blood was running down the latino's face and suddenly, he didn't look so invincible anymore.

He had shrunk down to about 5 foot 6. Still taller than Robin (who was only about 5 feet), but definitely not taller than the most dangerous mercenary alive. Artemis had a sudden thought strike her head. How tall was Deathstroke? Like 6 and a half feet? Artemis snorted. Robin had a long was to go if he ever wanted to be close to his father's height.

Speaking of the young bird, he and Deathstroke were currently finishing up their fight with Bane. Deathstroke somersaulted over Bane's sloppy right hook. He pivoted as soon as his feet touched the ground, swinging his staff at the same time. The mercenary's staff hit the back of Bane's knee, forcing him into a kneeling position. Robin danced around Bane's punches as he wacked the addict in pressure points throughout his body, the electricity making his body spasm randomly.

Deathstroke now had Bane in a headlock, holding the flailing limbs at bay for the young acrobat to make the finishing blow.

XXXXXXX

Robin sprung into action, his thumb hitting the on button again on his escrima sticks. Instead of the electricity vanishing, however, it grew more powerful. A powerful 'snap hiss' permeated the air and the same thought occurred to everyone at the same time. Robin had just turned the voltage up. The acrobat jumped into the air and twisted. He switched his grip on his right escrima stick so he had the top of it by his elbow. He brought his left escrima stick to the top of Bane's head. Hard. The addict's chin hit Deathstroke's arm (as he did still have him in a headlock).

His right escrima stick, however, was aimed at Bane's left temple. He had one chance to get this right. Too soft and the addict could remember that he and Deathstroke were father and son. Too hard and he could fracture his skull and there was no way that paramedics were gonna get here in time to save the criminal's life. So in other words: too soft and his identity as Deathstroke's son is out; too hard and he kills him. If he's able to calculate it right, though, Bane will only have slight amnesia. He won't remember the last 2 hours. That's all he needed.

As his last escrima stick made contact with Bane's flesh, he pushed the electricity to maximum for a split second, then quickly brought it back down to normal.

Bane went down without any more fuss, smoke slowly curling from the left side of his face, where small burns were visible. Meanwhile, Robin landed in a crouch, his right hand by his chin and his left by his side.

Deathstroke wasted no time in putting handcuffs on the downed muscle.

Robin slowly stood from his crouched position and extinguished the electricity flowing through this escrima sticks. He strapped them back to the back of his utility belt, where it was covered by his cape. He sent a wary glance to where the rest of his team was. M'gann and Conner looked confused. Kaldur looked stoic. Wally just looked hungry. Artemis...

Robin stopped as he examined the female archer's face.

Her expression was unreadable. There were a million emotions raging in her steel grey eyes yet her face remained calm. Her lips were slightly parted as she examined him. Sizing him up. No doubt his danger rate had just increased. The son of the most deadly mercenary in the world has got to be a threat. Robin could practically see the gears turning in Artemis' head.

She looked away first. She cleared her throat and shifted her steely gaze toward his father.

"Don't I know you from somewhere?"

Robin nearly scoffed. Of course she knew him. Who didn't know the name Deathstroke? Speaking of the devil, the mercenary chuckled.

"Yes, you do. Although the last time I saw you, you were about 4." Robin nearly chocked on his breath. His father knew Artemis before he even knew him! What a concept!

He knew, of course, that it made sense. Lawrence Crock and Slade Wilson would have had to cross paths at some point in their careers. While Slade didn't know about his son yet, Lawrence lived in the same house with his two daughters. Of course he would've brought them along on missions or when he couldn't find a sitter. That must've been when Slade had met a baby Artemis.There was a good chance he had met Jade, too. Probably before she donned her 'Cheshire' persona!

"When was that?" Artemis had her head cocked to the side. Robin knew that under her mask, her eyebrows were scrunched together in confusion. He doubted that she remembered anything from when she was four.

Slade cast a cautious look over the team, as if asking for permission to reveal her... ahem, family business.

Artemis, catching his drift, shook her head ever so slightly. You would've missed it if you weren't looking for it. Slade nodded curtly.

"I believe both you and your sister were there." He said vaguely.

"Why would you think that?" Artemis asked, suspicion sneaking into her voice. His mentioning her sister must've set off alarms bells in her head.

"Because that amount of dolls couldn't have possibly belonged to one person." Slade chuckled. Artemis's face flushed as she snorted lightly.

"Yeah, most of those dolls were my sister's." Her reply made Robin smirk and raise an eyebrow.

"Doesn't that mean some of them were yours?" He asked, a mischievous tilt to his voice. She gaped at him, sputtering excuses. She wasn't really known for being the girly type.

"W-well, I was only- I d-didn't have a-" Her eyes flitted around, seemingly looking for an answer to her predicament to appear out of thin air. Robin laughed lightly, trying to put the archer at ease. She relaxed slightly at the sound and a small smile sneaked its way onto her face. Robin's heart fluttered slightly and he blushed lightly. He broke eye contact, trying to look anywhere but the Team or his father, and cleared his throat awkwardly.

"Well!" He said, perhaps a bit too quickly, clapping his hands together. "Better call the GCPD to pick up our perp." He turned toward his father again for confirmation. Mischief sparked in Slade's single eye.

"Uh-huh..." Slade said in disbelief. Sarcasm was practically dripping from his noncommittal answer. No doubt there was a shit-eating smirk on his face (Robin had the same smirk, he just refused to admit it). The next time they met up, he was going to be teased endlessly. Either that or there was going to be an uncomfortably awkward personal talk. Robin didn't know which one was worse.

Choosing to ignore the comment, Robin walked to the shrunken, unconscious Bane and picked him up effortlessly. Sure, he himself might be only about 100 pounds but he's bench pressed about 350 pounds on a good day. He had to train to make up for his short, lanky stature. Just doing curl ups with some weights wasn't going to help anyone, much less help him survive on the streets of Gotham.

He pulled out a small, grey comm unit that connected exclusively to Commissioner James Gordon. Gordon should consider himself a lucky man. A straight line to Robin was something most of the girls in Gotham would kill for (it actually happened once; don't ask). He pressed a black button on the side. Brief static filled the comm. Then, a gruff voice filtered through.

"This is Gordon." The slight grunt at the end of the sentence led the teenager to believe that it had already been a long night for the seasoned war veteran (anyone who says that Gotham isn't a war-zone is lying...).

"Wassup, Commish. How's your night going so far?" Gordon sighed softly.

"Depends on what you're calling for, son. What've you got for me?" Robin saw Slade bristle slightly as the word 'son' but he pushed it out of his mind. After sending a wary look to the older vigilante, Robin continued.

"Yeah, I've got a special delivery for you. One de-powered and shrunken Bane, just for you, Commissioner."

Pause.

"Alright, I'll go pick him up right now. What're your coordinates?"

"I'll send them right now."

Another pause.

"Alright. Say hi to the big guy for me." Robin smiled.

"Will do, sir." Robin shut off the comm unit with a beep. After some brief thinking, he dumped Bane unceremoniously on the floor. He wouldn't be needed for a while.

He connected his wrist computer to the almost invisible mini USB port on the comm. His holographic computer popped up and he typed away, sending his coordinates to the police commissioner. He pinged Gordon's location and saw that he was only about 10 minutes away. His heart sank. Slade would have to answer the Team's questions another time. Preferably one where they weren't on opposite sides of the battle field.

That's when Wally decided to run his mouth.


	2. Explainations and Arrests

"Okay, so does anyone want to explain to me what the hell is going on here?" Wally's voice, by the end of his statement, had reached a pitch Robin thought only dog's could hear. He snickered slightly, trying to cover up his laughing with a coughing fit. Unsuccessfully. His father saved him the dignity of answering the redhead's question.

"Whatever do you mean?" He asked in a perfect imitation of William Wintergreen's British accent. Robin busted up. He even had the forced innocence down! His cackling filled the warehouse and everyone cracked a smile. Even Slade let a snicker escape his previously stoic facade.

The laughing died down when the sound of a police siren reached their ears. The smile slid off his face. Gordon was here.

"Ar trebui să te faci limpede." _You should make yourself scarce._ The words left Robin's mouth of their own accord. He glanced at his father, who didn't seem in any hurry to leave. At least, not without checking out his shoulder. Slade stepped forward to where Robin was standing and knelt down. He was obviously trying to get as close to Robin's height as he could, even though he still had about 4 inches on the Boy Wonder. He placed his hands on his son's shoulders, being careful to not to hurt Robin's injured one.

"Ești sigur că ești bine?" _Are you sure you're okay?_ He wasn't really sure but he forced a smile.

"Da, sunt bine. Voi verifica cu tine și Wintergreen în seara asta." _Yeah, I'm fine. I'll check in with you and Wintergreen tonight._ Truthfully, his arm hurt like a bitch and a half but he wasn't going to just outright say that. Slade didn't look convinced but he stood up. Sending his son a concerned glance, he ruffled his son's ebony hair distractedly. Robin hurriedly ran his hands through his hair, working on taming the new mess.

Before he left the warehouse, Slade had one more comment.

"Nói với Paula Slade chào." The comment was directed to Artemis, who's mouth fell open.

In fact, everyone's jaw was pretty much resting on the floor. Just chillin' there, apparently.

The warehouse was silent for a while two seconds.

"Close your mouths, guys. You'll catch flies." Robin forced his voice into a lighthearted tone, smiling at the Team. Just then, the door burst open and Commissioner Gordon ran in, gun drawn. He stopped at the sight.

Robin's foot was on the back of an unconscious Bane, who was currently drooling on the floor. Kid Flash's bone had probably been set wrong. His accelerated healing probably had something to do with that. It had healed wrong. M'gann looked as though she just woke up from a coma, pale and wan. (Don't ask how he knows. It's been a long week.)

He turned towards the police commissioner.

"Evening, Commish." He greeted, giving the older male a two finger salute and his signature smirk. Gordon sighed and holstered his gun, a standard issue Beretta 92.

"Robin." Gordon said. As he walked towards the Boy Wonder, he looked around, noticing the absence of a certain Bat.

"Where's Batman?"

The Boy Wonder tensed at the mention of his mentor, but forcefully relaxed his muscles. If he played his cards right, neither Gordon nor Batman would know what really went down tonight.

So he lied.

"Important League business. He sends his regards." Robin our air quotes around the words 'League business.' Gordon didn't need to know what went down tonight. And neither did Batman.

In reality, Batman was awaiting their mission report at Mt. Justice. But Gordon didn't need to know that.

In reality, it shouldn't be so easy for a thirteen year old to lie right to an adult's face. At least, not as easy as Robin made it look. But Robin was no ordinary thirteen year old.

Gordon sighed.

"Understandable." When Gordon reached the Boy Wonder, said teenager reached down and hoisted the unconscious addict to his feet. He passed him over to the police commissioner wordlessly. Gordon pulled a walkie talkie out of thin air.

"Dispatch, this is Gordon. Where's the nearest dispatch from my location?"

A pause, then a female voice filtered through.

"Golf Oscar 56 is 10 minutes out, sir. Want me to patch them the coordinates?"

"Isn't that Murtaugh and Riggs?"

"Yes, sir."

Gordon paused before sighing in an I'm-only-doing-this-because-I-have-to way.

"Send them the coordinates."

"Yes, sir"

Gordon paused for a second while he took a look at all the unconscious thugs currently residing on the warehouse's floor.

"Dispatch?"

"Yes, sir?"

"Tell them to bring the paddy wagon."

A chuckle.

"Right away, sir."

Gordon clipped the walkie talkie to his belt before motioning to the rest of the Team with his free arm.

"They gonna be okay?" Robin turned and sent a concerned glace to his team, who were all in the same positions he had last saw them in. He turned his gaze to Artemis, who was crouched by Kid Flash's side. Her steely gray eyes held determination as she nodded at him, her mouth set in a slight smirk.

"They'll be fine." He motioned over his shoulder with his thumb angled towards Kid Flash. "He heals fast."

Gordon chuckled before starting to walk out of the warehouse. He waved over his shoulder.

"Thanks again, kid!"

Robin chuckled.

"Anytime, Commish!"

The door closed behind Gordon and silence filled the warehouse. Robin turned around, already dreading the impending conversation. He walked over to his team hesitantly, cautiously. If someone would've asked him about this conversation an hour ago and he would've laughed in their face at the sheer notion that the Team had found out his identity. His true identity.

Living through it now... Robin would rather re-dislocate his arm.

XXXXXXX

As Robin walked towards them, Artemis saw the cautiousness in his gait, the hesitance in his stance. The lack of confidence. Confidence was something Artemis had always thought the Boy Wonder had an unlimited supply of. But now... not so much.

To the untrained eye, it looked as though he was walking slowly with a slight limp. But Artemis was trained. She saw the way his feet dragged on the floor, making slight shuffling sounds. That was from hesitance, not from an injury. She saw the way his hands hung by his sides, instead of swinging the way they normally did. He was keeping them in close proximity to his utility belt. His muscled were tensed, coiled as if ready to spring. Artemis' eyes widened slightly as she realized his reasoning.

Robin was expecting an attack.

She almost laughed at the absurdity. He mopped the floor with them in training. No way they would be able to take him down now, even if they wanted to! Which they didn't. Though the teenager might be an annoying little troll sometimes (okay, all the time), they were his friends.

It had nothing to do with the fact that he was also the child of a infamous mercenary who was on the opposite side of the battlefield, like her. Nope, that teeny weeny little factoid hadn't even entered Artemis' mind.

Though... if she was being honest with herself, she wanted to show him what he showed her when they first met. Not hostility, like Wally. Not formality, like Kaldur. Not obnoxiously obvious kindness, like M'gann. No, none of that...

Acceptance. Friendship. That is what Robin, protege of Batman had shown to her, Artemis, the youngest daughter of Sportmaster, a known mercenary for hire. He had shown her what it was like to have a friend who wasn't trying to kill you at every turn.

And she'd be damned if she didn't show him that same friendship in return.

XXXXXXX

Wallace West was having a bad week.

Now, I know what you're thinking.

'Don't all teenagers have bad weeks?'

Well, this one was worse.

He started off with a pop quiz in his Chemistry class. Not a good sign. It didn't help that his teacher absolutely hated him. Honestly, he'd rather face Captain Cold a million times over with a knife in his leg than go to Ms. Dodds' class. The woman was a harpy.

He should've known better than to tempt the Fates.

He'd gotten his wish, alright. Right after school, as he was walking home with his backpack slung over his shoulder, weighed down with about 2 3-inch textbooks, he'd gotten a call from his Uncle Barry, saying that he needed his help immediately. After a quick pit stop in an alley to change and leave his backpack, he was on his way.

20 minutes later Wally was shivering and dripping wet, ice lightly coating his hair. His lips were tinged blue as he ran to the alley where he'd dropped his backpack... only to find it gone. He groaned as he shivered on the spot where he had stashed his homework. No change of clothes, no warmth, and no excuse for his teacher as to why he didn't have his homework.

Of course, Wally also got a tongue lashing when he got home. He hadn't even realized how late it was. He couldn't do his homework, he almost exposed his identity to his parents, and he was possibly catching hypothermia.

And that was just Monday.

It only went downhill from there.

Today was Friday, one of the only worthwhile days of the week.

So what if he overreacted a little when the news broke? He had a valid reason!

He just found out that his best friend was the son of a mercenary working for the other side! Dick had lied!

Wally had been the one to start the trend of calling him Dick. It was short for his first name, Richard. Sure, it was a nickname from about half a century in the past but his history teacher was always saying that those who don't mind the past are doomed to repeat it. This was him minding the past.

He knew Richard hated it. The current era had been the cause of endless teasing from school and from Wally himself. The boy hero always introduced himself as Richard Grayson, ward of billionaire Bruce Wayne. Never Dick.

Now, that might not even be his real name.

Not that Wally was any wiser. It had taken months of wheedling to get Robin to reveal his identity to him. And that was definitely a lie.

Richard Grayson's parents were John and Mary Grayson, famous acrobats from Haly's International Traveling Circus, where a few select members of the team had been employed by Robin to solve a case involving a string of robberies coinciding with the circus' traveling locations. Robin had wanted to solve the case and clear the circus' name, or if someone inside the circus was involved, to bring them to justice. Anything to clear the name of the ringleader, Pop Haly, one of the only people Robin had left from his past.

So Wally accepted the bullshit excuse that Robin had given him when he had called for his whereabouts. He knew that this was personal for the bird.

But now... Wally didn't know what to think. So he didn't.

He just talked.


	3. Threats and Interrogations

"What the shit just happened?" Wally's accusing question was aimed at the young bird. Robin was his best friend, he was practically his little brother. So why was he kept in the dark? Both teenagers had ranted to each other how their mentors had kept them away from a case or didn't tell them the whole story because it was 'too dangerous'. (Robin had actually disobeyed Batman's orders and gotten himself captured buy the Joker, but that was another story) They, along with Roy and Kaldur, had made a pact to always tell each other the truth. No secrets. Robin broke that promise.

That made Wally mad. No, he was furious.

"Well?!" His furious words bounced off the concrete walls of the warehouse. Robin seemed to shrink in on himself, hunching his shoulders so that his cape fell over the slim appendages, so that the rest of his body was hidden from Wally's wrath. Unbeknownst to the speedster, the younger teenager's hands had drifted towards his utility belt, one resting on the pouch that contained his throwing disks, the other resting on his escrima sticks behind his back. Robin wasn't just going to roll over. He wasn't going to go down without a fight.

Wally struggled to his feet, groaning inwardly when he realized that there was no pain emanating from his broken leg. It was still facing the wrong way, which meant that it had healed wrong. He would have to break it again and reset it. His anger sparked and he stumbled forward as best he could with only one good leg. Artemis caught him before he tripped over air. He stabilized himself and pointed an accusing finger at Robin.

"You! You should've told us! You should've told me! Otherwise, I would have-" Wally stumbled over his words as they died in his throat. His jaw fell slack and he paled considerably, making his freckles stand out more than usual. What was he going to say? That he wouldn't have tried to be friends? That he wouldn't trust him? How was he going to finish that sentence?

Apparently, Robin was wondering, too.

He straightened up from his hunched position, eyes narrowed into deadly slits. His lips were pulled back in a snarl, baring his teeth. His fists were clenched at his sides, not holding any weapons. He probably wants the satisfaction of beating him to death with his bare hands.

Robin opened his mouth to say something...

Wally braced himself for the verbal assault that he was inevitably going to endure.

He prepared himself for the insults, for the betrayal, for the threats.

He expected these things.

He wasn't expecting for Artemis to scoff in disgust.

He certainly wasn't expecting the archer to drop him.

Wally yelped as he fell to his knees awkwardly. His bad leg couldn't bend that well so he landed roughly on his good knee. He stifled a groan as gravel dug into his skin, easily poking through the friction-resistant spandex of his suit. He really needed to invest in armor...

He looked up to see an angry bird and an angry archer, side by side.

Artemis' steel gray eyes were narrowed in a deadly glare. Her hands were placed on her hips and her mouth was set in a scowl. Robin had an almost identical look on his face, arms crossed and the whites of his mask were set in deadly slits.

"What are you going to do about it, Wally?" The archer's voice was ice. Wally shivered. She didn't care.

"What would you do if we were all the kids of bad guys? Huh? If you were the only one with non-supervillain blood?"

Wally had no response.

"What if M'gann was Malefic's daughter? What if Kaldur was Black Manta's son? What if Conner was Lex Luthor's son? What if I was Sportsmaster's daughter!?" Artemis' angry words echoed throughout the warehouse. Robin had to work to control his surprise that Artemis so willingly gave away her identity as the daughter of a supervillain. Then again, maybe it was just a ruse to fool the feeble minded. Wally seemed to be buying it.

"Yeah, KF. What would you do?" Robin had stepped up to the plate now, glaring at the speedster in contempt. His voice was quiet and yet, somehow, it was scarier than him yelling.

The words Wally was thinking of died in his throat, his excuses each becoming more feeble than the last.

"W-well, I-I would...um...well, I would...um..."

The speedster was so occupied with trying to talk his way out of the current situation that he didn't notice how angry his lack of response made the Boy Wonder. He didn't see the way Artemis tensed. Wally didn't see Robin rushing toward him until he was gasping for breath, pressed up against the wall, with a small dagger at his throat.

Everyone gasped and rushed forward to help Wally. They froze dead in their tracks when they heard the sound of an arrow being nocked. Their gazes snapped from the bird and the speedster to the archer.

Artemis had an explosive arrow nocked. The tip was blunt, but it was pulsing with a green light. Explosive kryptonite. The fire would take care of M'gann and Kaldur. The kryptonite would take care of Conner. Useful.

Robin's lips were pulled back in a snarl and there was nothing stopping him from plunging the small dagger into Wally's throat. Wally was too weak to fight back anyway.

Robin pushed the dagger harder against Wally's throat. The speedster winced as he felt the bird draw blood.

"You would've what?" Robin's voice had become as steely as Artemis' eyes, quiet and deadly. Wally would've preferred to keep quiet, but his mouth had other ideas.

"I would've expected you to do that, gypsy." Wally gave a pointed look to the dagger that was starting to drip with blood. His blood. Robin's eyes widened slightly and, with a scoff practically dripping with disgust, stepped back from the speedster. Without Robin to hold him up, Wally fell to his knees, his injured leg stretched out to his side, his left leg nearly buckling when gravel dug into his knee.

Robin turned back around to where Artemis was standing. Her arm were folded over her chest and she was sneering at the injured speedster on the ground. Wally had a hand to his neck, trying to stem the blood flow. Robin sent an inquisitive look to Artemis.

"You wanna do it?" He asked, gesturing over to Wally with a jerk of his head. She shrugged, looking indifferent.

"You're choice." She said smoothly. Robin shrugged, too.

"Suit yourself." Before anyone had time to blink, there was a sharp crack and a sick crunch and Wally was rolling around on the floor clutching his injured knee. It didn't immediately look as though anyone had moved but upon closer inspection, Robin was now standing in an offensive stance, one completely different from the calm stance he was in before.

As Wally's agonized screams echoed off the walls, everyone realized what had transpired. Robin had shattered Wally's knee. M'gann cried out and rushed to Wally's side, ignoring the Artemis' arrow pointed at her. She passed a hand over the speedster's face and he fell asleep without another word. At a small nod from Robin, Artemis relaxed, letting her string go limp (or as limp as it could be)

M'gann turned to the two, tears springing in her amber eyes, kneeling in the speedster's blood. The bone fragments had pierced the skin. She didn't speak.

She didn't need to.

Robin shrugged as he turned around, his parting words short and curt.

"He heals fast."

Without another glace back, the bird fired his grappling gun through the hole in the skylight. As it went farther and farther upwards, he turned to Artemis. He held out a hand toward her, a cocky smirk on his face.

XXXXXXX

He didn't know what he was doing.

He didn't know why he was doing it.

Gods, he was an idiot.

'Stupid stupid stupid! Gods, you're an idiot, Wilson! Why couldn't you just gesture ominously with your head? Or just ask her if she wants to come with like a normal person? Instead you had to go and do this stupid Aladdin moment! Real smart!'

To say that Robin was nervous was an understatement. His hand was suspended in midair as he mentally berated himself for trying to impersonate a Disney prince. At this point, he was grateful to Bruce and his ridiculous paranoia for making him wear a mask. He didn't want anyone to see the pure and utter panic in his blue eyes, the azure orbs flitting back and forth throughout the room, as though looking for an escape.

Just as he was going to put his hand down and accept that he is the biggest doofus (because Artemis was an independent woman who don't need no man) he knew, Artemis sighed and put her arrow away, a small smile on her face. She shook her head and put a hand on her hip, putting her weight on her right leg.

"You could've just asked, Boy Wonder." Playfulness laced her voice and relief flooded through Robin. He sighed softly and let his cocky smile return.

As she took his hand, he was incredibly grateful that he was wearing gloves, otherwise she might've slipped because his hands were so sweaty.

His signature cackle left his lips as they went rocketing up into the sky, leaving their scared and shocked teammates behind them.

Neither one looked back.

XXXXXXX

Really, Robin should've known better than to expect that Slade would just leave. That was crazy on its own. Leave his son alone to go against his team? Oh, and if you're wondering how Slade knew that... don't. He's Slade Wilson, he knows these things. Hell, he knows everything.

Including how cruel people can be.

Sure, he expected that the team would flip out. He didn't expect the speedster to. From the offhand comments his son had made while describing his day at their tri-weekly meetups, he never expected that Wallace Rudolph West would be the one to flip out over his best friends true lineage.

If Slade was being honest, he was expecting it to be Superboy. The thick skulled loose cannon of the team.

There isn't a lot of things that can surprise the greatest mercenary in the world.

West calling his son a gypsy was one of them.

Slade sighed.

Robin's mother, Mary, was Romani. She was the one who taught a young Richard how to speak her native language. Slade, however, had to teach himself the language. This was a successful attempt to ask Mary out on a date. Their first date. After a few fumbles in their conversation, Mary had taken pity on Slade and agreed to a double date. It was them two and Mary's friend Chelsea and her boyfriend Kyle.

Even with the unwanted company, it was one of the best nights of Slade's life.

But enough about him. Tonight was about Richard.

And how, unbeknownst to the young bird, he was currently being stalked by his mercenary father.

Wonderful.

When Wally had called Richard a gypsy, the speedster's voice practically dripping with venom, Slade had seen red and had almost jumped down from his crouched position on the roof to beat the speedster senseless.

Speedsters heal fast anyway.

But he restrained himself. He knew his son could take care of himself and he wasn't let down.

Richard shattering Wally's knee was probably the best sort of revenge that you can get on a speedster. Speedsters always want to move, they always want to be moving.

Now, the teenage speedster was confined to twiddling his thumbs to keep himself busy.

Only Slade and Artemis has seen the savage smirk on Richard's face as he turned around. And they had identical ones plastered on their faces, eyes glinting with malice.

'That's my boy.'

XXXXXXX

Artemis has seen a lot of things. Horrible things. Most of those things she had to live through.

A lot of things had happened to her. Bad things.

Beatings. Torture sessions. Missions where she had to do something she didn't want to.

When she became Green Arrow's partner, she still found herself expecting these things. What can she say? Old habits die hard.

When she joined the Team, she expected hostility. She wasn't completely disappointed. Wally had surpassed her expectations with flying colors. (Note the sarcasm)

Though discouraged and cold, there was one person who got her to open up with his jokes and his habit of butchering the English language.

Robin.

He had shown her what it meant to be part of a team, part of a family. He showed her how to get loose and play video games and have fun.

And that was something she couldn't ever repay him for.

But when she saw the way Robin was being verbally oattacked by Wally, his best friend, there was no question in her mind as to whose side she should chose.

The speedster's pained grunt as she dropped him had only solidified her determination in ice.

Sure, pulling an arrow on Conner, M'gann, and Kaldur hadn't been part of the plan but she wasn't really expecting the plan to go that far anyway.

Artemis knew that Robin was surprised at her decisions. She knew that he was probably expecting to fight the whole team by himself. Alone.

She wasn't going to let that happen.

Her taking his hand when he had "asked" her to go with him had been a blessing in disguise. She didn't want to be the one to explain that mess to Batman.

His sigh of relief had steeled her nerves, as well. Robin was expecting her to back out. No freaking way, she would do that.

If she had went back with the Team, they would expose her as Sportsmaster's daughter and she would be stripped of her rank as Green Arrow's partner.

If she went with Robin they'd be on the run. But they'd have their equipment, which is something that would be taken away immediately if she chose the former option. She'd be with an ally. A powerful ally with an even more powerful father. No doubt they'd hide with him, unless Robin had a safe-house somewhere in the vicinity. And even then, they'd probably check in with Slade first.

The second option was obviously more favorable.

Normally being on the run would strike fear in her heart. She would have limited supplies, limited equipment, and limited leisure time. Now, she had an ally that could easily get new equipment and supplies from. Necessities and sleep.

Now, Artemis wasn't alone.

Now the thought of being on the run excited her.

And through it all, she had a partner in crime.

XXXXXXX

 **Okay this is a short chapter. Sorry for that but I'm trying to get this out as quickly as possible. Comment on what you want to happen and what you thought was funny. I take constructive criticism so feel free to drop a comment about anything you think I can improve on.**

 **Just to let you know, Traught will be the main ship for this story so if you have a problem with that, you don't have to read my story.**

 **Until next time...**

 **Thanks!**


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